NBC News staff and wire reports -- Protesters in a number of countries across the Muslim world vented anger against the West on Friday as the controversy over an anti-Islamic film raged, with a KFC restaurant torched in Lebanon, violent attacks on U.S. embassies in Sudan and Tunis and fierce protests in Egypt, Jordan and Pakistan.

U.S. embassies and consulates are braced for trouble on the Muslim day of prayer, when demonstrations are often held, following the attack on the consulate in Benghazi, Libya, which killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevensand three other Americans.

Lebanese security forces fire shots to disperse men ransacking American fast food chains Hardee's and KFC as they protest against the controversial film "Innocence of Muslims" in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli on Sept. 14.

Reuters

Hundreds of protesters set alight a Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Hardee's restaurant in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli on Sept. 14, witnesses said, chanting against the pope's visit to Lebanon and shouting anti-American slogans.